The Abbasid Caliphate

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Transcript of The Abbasid Caliphate

Culture During the Abbasid Caliphate dynasty the Persians had major influence in many things. The area that were influenced the most was art and architecture. The most popular mosque of the Abbasid was the mosque of Samarra near Baghdad between 848 and 851. A major accomplishment in literature was the Epic Poem "Shahnameh" (Book of Kings), It is a history of Persia from creation of Islamic conquest. It consist of about 50,000 verses. Three main art techniques were Calligraphy, Vegetal patterns, and Geometric pattern. "Al-Khwarizmi's Kitab al-Jabr wal-Muqabal", meaning The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing, is one of the most important ever written for the math and sciences because it defined algebra as a separate branch of mathematics. During the Abbasid Caliphate many different technology improved and culture developed. The Abbasid CaliphatePolitical StructureThe Abbasids came to power by having As-Saffah (first caliph) kill all the Umayyads. He turned the Umayyad's Arab empire into a mulitnational Muslim empire. They also moved the capital from Damascus, Syria, to Iraq. The new capital was Baghdad. The Abbasid Caliphate was a monarchy controlled by the Caliphs. The caliphate accepted non-Arabs as governors.social structureCultural and Technological AccomplishmentsAt the top part of the Islamic Social ladder was the Caliph and his household. The next level of social class was the professionals, traders, merchants, teachers, doctors. The next level of social class was the Dhimmis, the protected people. These people were the Christians, Jews, and also the Zoroasterists. These people were permitted to live freely as long as they paid taxes and recognized Islamic Political Supremacy.At the bottom of the class system were the slaves. Slaves in Islamic society were different than other slaves in history. Slaves could gain freedom in various ways, classical mistreatment was not tolerated, slavery was not locked into a specific race. Woman InequalityMany of the stereotypes about Islamic gender roles date from the Abbasid period, such as the practice of keeping women out of public life, cloistering them and restricting their movements. The status of a free Muslim woman, even a wife or mother, came to resemble very closely to that of a slave.The key distinction was that a free woman belonged primarily within a family context; but in neither case was the woman considered an autonomous individual with property or professional rights comparable to those of men.Women not only lost authority under the Abbasids; they also lost control over their bodies. Female infanticide had long been a threat in Middle Eastern cultures, as seen in the need for Muhammad to ban the practice. But it reemerged in the Abbasid period.Adult women were increasingly seen as commodities, or like a trophy that represented that you had a more attractive wife than another man.Economic StructureBaghdad's economy relied on taxes, and wealth generated by trade and manufacturing. The empire was rich in gold, silver, copper, and iron and used them in trade. Farmers grew dates, rice, and other grains. The Abbasids introduced new breeds of livestock and spread cotton. Traders from Scandinavia to Africa came to Baghdad for the products of its industries.Economic Structure ContinuedLeather goods, textiles, paper, metalwork, and perfumes were sold in the city. The Abbasids developed something very similar to the banking system. They did not have bank buildings but business people invested in long distance trade and goods were bought on credit. They also had a postal system. They introduced a uniform coinage system that made commerce easier.Important CaliphsAs-Saffah (First Caliph)ended the Umayyad CaliphateReform of the armyincluded non-Muslims and non-ArabsAl-Mansurknown as "real founder" of Abbasid Caliphateliterature and scholarly work emergedHarun al-Rashidmost famous caliphknown for scientific, cultural, art, music, and religious prosperityTechnologyNew technology wasn't invented but renovated. A major adoption from China was gunpowder. Formulas for pure potassium nitrate and an explosive gunpowder were becoming more advance. Other adoption that occurred was paper making. The windmill and watermill became more advantage. Crops such as almonds and citrus became more known in the area. Sugar cultivation also became known. Abbasid Caliphate 750-1258The Abbasid Caliphate overthrows the Umayyad Caliphate 750ADAbbasids united multiple small groups together that had hatred towards the Umayyads and took over the Umayyad CaliphateThe new Caliphate that was elected under the "Shura" was Abbas Ibn Abd al-Muttalib762ADCapital is movedDamascusBaghdadcapital is moved so it could be closer to most of their support base (Persia)Capital is now located on/ near major trade routes1258 Abbasid Empire FallsADKey Eventsthe empire lasted for 500 years, but its peak ended almost 300 years earlierforgot government responsibilitycouldn't find a solution to the problem of holding together a very large empire under primitive circumstances of the early middle agesPolitical SystemCurrencyDinar (gold coin)Dirham (silver coin)Fals (copper coin)Trade became the major income. Baghdad became the international trade center, which made trade freer, safer, and more extensive. Trade created a system of sophisticated banking and exchange.Industry, agriculture, and commerce all flourishedVERY WEALTHY!advances in math, science, medicine, and agriculturecontinued...The Abbasid Caliphate collected taxes and tributes from more distant provinces. Trading made the Caliphate very wealthy.continued...Al-Aminson of Harun al-Rashidwas known as Muhammadmany disapproved of him because he was supposedly attracted to menAl-Ma'munson of Harun al-Rashid and brother of Al-Amingreatest patron of philosophy & science in Islam historyIncorporated Shakiriyamilitary units from Central Asia and North Africa, hired to serve for the CaliphAl-Musta'simlast caliph of the Abbasid CaliphateMongols took over Baghdad under his ruleMilitaryShakiriya were usedmilitary units from Central Asia and North Africa, hired to serve for the CaliphSeljuqs controlled Baghdad between 978-1118 before the military was strong enough to defeat them and completely take over. About 400 years after the rise of the Abbasid Caliphate, the military was able to defend Baghdad against the Seljuqs in the Siege of Baghdad in 1157. This secured Iraq for the Abbasids.continued...The Caliphs towards the fall of the Abbasid Caliphate, made the military very large and powerful. The strongest period for the military was during the rise of the Caliphate and between the years of 1118-1206. Unfortunately, the military was not strong/large enough to defend against the Mongols. The Mongol Invasion of 1258 marked the fall of the Abbasid Caliphate. *overthrown by the Mughal Empire*